The Mockingjay Killed My Father
by Cathy Daydreams
Summary: Katniss never asked Cinna about his family. Now she's going to find out, weather she wants to or not.   Plot spoilers for Catching Fire & Mockingjay.
1. A Dress Unfinished

**Welcome one and all,  
>I have a new Cinna ff, I hope you all enjoy<strong>  
>NOTE TO ANYONE RETURNING TO THIS STORY<br>**you may notice that I have made a number of rather drastic changes. I hope this hasn't upset you in anyway, but I thought that Rosa, my main character was far too weak, so I have toughened her up a bit and rewritten a lot. Let me know what you all think of the new changes, weather you're a new reader or not.  
><strong>

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><p>The Capitol is in flames and my father holds the match.<br>I smile as I walk through the glimmering city. The sunlight hits the glass towers, showering me in colour and light.  
>My father is the talk of the capitol, the flames still burn as brightly as before from this time last year, when twenty four young men and women went into an arena and only two came out.<br>As I think of those dead, and those killed by the brutality of the games a sense of pride fills my heart.  
>My father styled a winning tribute,<br>My father saved a person's life and with a little luck,  
>My father will do it again.<br>The quick steps home get faster, until I break into a quick run, desperate to get home and see my dress for the ball.  
>The school has been talking of nothing else and I have everything I could want,<br>A beautiful dress, designed for me and the sketches alone. The envy of the capitol and every capitol child from our school.  
>A wonderful collection of friends, to complement my style and help me enjoy the night.<br>I even have a boy now. His name's Thorburn and he's amazingly handsome and one of the kinder members of the capitol.  
>I can see the door to our home, a modest little town house, not far from where the tributes sleep, for dad's convenience.<br>Before I know it the door has slammed shut behind me and my school bag is lying on the floor, in our hallway.  
>I run into the kitchen, expecting to find my mum reading a magazine, waiting to press the button so we can eat.<br>But I don't ...

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><p>Instead I find my mother, looking up at me, shocked and with a tragic look in her eye. Much to my surprise I also find my father, suddenly standing upright to face me, the light of day highlighting the single line of gold eyeliner and the flecks of gold in his emerald eyes.<br>" You're home early, thought you weren't bringing my dress over till you finished with ... "  
>" Rosa, there's something we need to tell you " my mother says wrapping her arms around me, preventing me from getting a drink.<br>" Rosa ..." my father begins " I haven't got your dress because ... you won't be going to prom "  
>I stare at him for a while and I feel like I've just been punched.<br>" What do you mean I'm not going to prom ?" I ask, trying to level my voice out  
><em>how could he lie to me ?<em>  
><em>he promised ?<br>_" You can't go to prom, because we won't be here" mum whispers " we're leaving tonight "  
>I walk out of my mum's embrace and look at my dad.<br>_Explain dammit ! What does she mean !  
><em>I can't look either of them in the eye, why do this, now when life is looking so good, so perfect and so capitol, does everything have to change !  
>That's when I hear my footsteps, running up the stairs keeping in time with my parents desperate cries.<br>All of which are muffled by the sound of my bedroom door.  
>Slamming shut.<p>

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><p><strong>...<strong>


	2. Flying

**Hello again.  
>Just want to say a big thanks to anyone who's reviewed. Really makes my week, anyhow I won't keep you.<strong>

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><p><em>I cannot cry.<br>I will not cry.  
><em>But I don't understand, why must we leave, we're happy in the Capitol, aren't we ?  
>Just yesterday my mum was telling me how brilliant the Capitol is, how lucky she is to live here and not in one of the many districts of our great nation. How has everything changed, in the space of a day?<br>There's a knock at the door and my father stands, gingerly, in the hallway. Waiting for me to let him into a room in his own house.  
><em>"May I come in ?"<br>"It's your house" _I remind him_ "not much I can do to stop you"  
><em>he comes and sits on the edge of my bed, still cautious. But I'm not angry anymore.  
>I just want to know why. He opens his arms as I turn into him and rest my head, wearily, on his shoulders as he holds me. Like nothing else matters. After all ,the only man a girl can depend on is her daddy.<br>_"Are you okay?" _he asks and this time I don't run, this time I swear that I won't lie.  
><em>"Why? Why do this to me, you know it would have been okay if you'd told me a while ago, now I don't get to say goodbye to my friends to … to …" Thorburn, <em>perfect and beautiful Thorburn. I can see him now standing alone on the dancefloor cursing my name and my memory.  
><em>"We don't have time" <em>he replies and I stop to listen,_ really _listen to him.  
><em>He's scared,<br>He's worried,  
>"Why not?"<br>_There's a silence, a difficult and awkward silence that hangs in the air as my father sits there, staring into space.  
><em>What's so bad that he cannot tell me, his best friend and only daughter ?<br>" I've made a dress " _he says and I want to laugh, if he's moving us away for fear of embarrassment I will kill him with Katniss' synthetic flames.  
><em>"I've made a dress that might kill me"<br>_The laughter stops.  
>Dead.<br>I cannot register that word, dead, it suddenly feels like a lump of coal is stuck in my throat, chocking me to death. I can barely speak as my father takes me by the shoulders, pushing me away so that he can see the shock that must be written all over my face. He looks at me and sees me clearly in the fading sunlight.  
><em>"You must listen to me" <em>he says in a calm and reassuring voice_ "You must" _and so he begins to explain this awkward and complicated history that I am now to be a victim of.  
>He tells me everything, sparing me no details.<br>He tells me of district thirteen, of the mockingjay, of dresses and firebolts and the price the artist must pay for his work.  
><em>" You see why you and your mother have to go"<br>"Come with us" _I beg_ "Come with us we can save you" but he shakes his head and my heart begins to break.  
><em>How can he think that this is all for my own good ?  
>my best friend, and father. Can he honestly believe that leaving me alone in the world is for my own good ?<br>_" I cannot leave Katniss, you know that Rosa "  
><em>I want to scream, I want to kick him, punch him, scream abuse at him and I want to burst in to tears so I can feel that familiar warmth pressing against me. I couldn't live with the guilt, if my last words to him were spoken in anger and besides, the kicks and punches will come in time, thick and fast. It is not my job to add to them.

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><p>We're ready to leave, my mother and I, I look at back at my room, one last time and it looks like nothing's changed. The bed is unmade, the pictures still hang on the wall. I leave that house with nothing. Not even a picture of my father, he was very strict about that.<br>_"They will suspect you" _he reminded me_ "If you start making a shrine for me in the middle of the woods or something else bizarre like that"  
>"Don't flatter yourself" <em>I reply.  
>Then I realise what I've said and I hold him tight, fearing every second, every minute and every day.<br>_"I love you"  
><em>Now I stand in our hallway, as mum rams food into our backpacks. I watch my father looking out of the open window, the cool night air brushing past his face.  
>He looks strangely content, for a man who in a few days will be on his deathbed.<br>He walks over to me, with a strange transparent paper in his hand.  
><em>"Give me you arm" <em>he tells me and I hold my hand out to him. He rolls my sleeve up and places the paper on my arm. A tattoo.  
>When he peels the paper away a small bird is perching on my arm, looking at my father's finger, which reaches towards its beak.<br>_"A mockingjay" _I whisper and he nods, I wince as the sound of backpacks, zipping shut fills the empty living room.  
><em>"Putting ice on an open wound are we?" <em>and I cannot help but notice that vicious edge in my voice, but my father knows me well. We both know each other so well, like twins.  
><em>" They'll say I died for the mockingjay" <em>he begins and my mother runs out of the room, a trail of tears behind her, like a wedding veil.  
><em>" But there's only one mockingjay I love with all my heart" <em>he declares_ "You". I_ look at him as our eyes fill up with tears and I throw my arms around him, for what I know now is the last time. My mother joins us and we grab our things. He gives my mother his ring._ "They can beat me to a pulp but they won't touch you" _he promises and maybe my mother is too distraught to disbelieve my father, but I know better.  
>Me and Cinna know that we will all pay for his actions and the look in his emerald eyes tells me everything.<br>_" I almost forgot " _Cinna says as he breaks out of my mother's embrace. He takes a piece of paper and helps me pull my top up so that my back is exposed to the cool night air.  
><em>"It's a quote from our ancestors, well one of them anyway" <em>he chuckles, as he presses the familiar paper to my back._ " the reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings"  
><em>As the quote sinks in and my top rides down my back, I think of my life and how everything will change. Nothing will ever be the same again.  
>After one last hug I'm separated from my father by everything.<br>By my mother's urgent tugs,  
>By my father's fate,<br>By the crisp white door that separates our home from the cruel cruel world of Panem.  
>In the darkness we are lead to the hovercraft that will take us into the forests, into the unknown.<br>In the darkness, walking away from the life I knew I hear a familiar sound  
>Fire glows brighter in the darkness<br>It's my father's voice, he's standing by the open window as I pass it and he whispers his final words to me  
><em>Fly for me, Mockingjay<em>

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><p><strong>Hope this was as interesting as the first chapter, please continue to review.<strong>


	3. A Change of Scene

**Hello,  
>So, stuck in school procrastinating, thought you might like a little indulging :). So here it is, next chapter … I hope you enjoy it.<strong>

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><p>The hovercraft lifts mum, and me<br>higher,  
>higher,<br>higher  
>away from home and everything I've ever known. Under normal circumstances I would be excited,<br>_a unique adventure_, my mother might have said, _enjoy it while it lasts,_  
>but these are not normal circumstances.<br>I press my face to the small, nail sized slit in the hovercraft and watch the capitol pass me by. The sun is coming up over the mountains and the Capitol presents itself to me in all it's glorious perfection, one last attempt to make me stay. But I know what I know and all the beauty in the world will not make me turn back.  
>Mum wraps her arms around me and I cling to her, like a leach to the skin , something familiar in this unfamiliar and all too terrifying existence.<br>"_Are you okay?_" she asks and I nod. I'm not okay, far from it but I'm not about to worry her.  
>Leaving a father is hard and heart wrenching enough, leaving a husband is an agony I hope I will never know. Mum dosen't need my pain right now. But I feel somewhat enlightened, no matter what happens; I guess we still have eachother, <em>right<em>?

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><p>{ This is the map of Panem that I am using and will explain a lot of my district choices.<br>art/Map-of-Panem-Hunger-Games-209724718}

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><p>The hovercraft lands, on the outskirts of district eleven, at least that's what the pilot says as the noise of the engine dies down and we make our way to the front of the hovercraft. I feel sick with fear as we walk to the front and despite my best efforts to hide behind a calm and cool expression a peacekeeper squeezes my shoulder reassuringly<br>"_Don't worry_" he tells me, _what a useless piece of advice_. I am a capitol girl, walking into a district, how can I not worry about how they will treat me as we walk through _their_ land, strangers.  
>"<em>You're not the first, most of us are district thirteen there's nothing to worry about<em>" he chants as we walk through the fields of the capitol's only food supply. The splendour and extravagance of that great city where I was born, seems nothing more to me now, than a distant and bitter memory. As I walk through the dusty fruitless land.  
>The pilot's escort us and drop off a package to the justice building, so that we aren't suspected by the few capitol peacekeepers still in residence in the district. I cannot believe that such poverty exists in Panem, I had heard it all before of course from my father but no one can imagine this, not even in their strangest and most terrifying nightmares.<br>As we walk through the district, I see among the dust and the dirt, children peering at me from behind walls, doors and windows.  
>A peacekeeper walks up to me, a small beautiful dark skinned girl, holds his hand with a shy smile on her face<br>" _She wants to see the tattoo on your arm_ " the peacekeeper asks and I look to my mother who knows the relevance of the bird on my shoulder, secluded only partially by the sleeves of my t shirt. She nods subtly before resuming a conversation with one of the pilots.  
>I bend down till my hands are digging into the dirt, balancing my weight on the balls of my feet as she reaches towards the bird. I pull my sleeve up and the little girl watches the mockingjay soar through the skin coloured sky, with wide eyes.<br>" That's the bird Katniss wears " the little girl says  
>" It's the symbol of rebellion " the peacekeeper whispers "the mockingjay will save us" the little girl looks confused mouthing the word mockingjay until she connects the word to a picture,<br>a moment,  
><em>a dress<em>  
>"<em>That's like the bird they based Katniss' wedding dress on<em> " and my eyes open with a new found interest. I'd forgotten that the interviews had been and gone. The games have not yet started but by the end of the day my father will have taken his final bow as Katniss Everdeen walks into the spotlight.  
>I long so desperately to ask the girl about my father's dress, but have no time. The peacekeepers have delivered their package and are forcing us to move on before we became suspicious.<br>We leave the beautiful district behind and as we board the hovercraft I dare to look back. There is a strange peace and serenity to this place. Calmer than our escape from the Capitol and I can see that in my father's world, where the Capitol and the Districts are equal, this place could be an escape or just another beautiful place in Panem.  
>But that's all in the future and nothing more than a dream.<br>I cannot bank on it ever happening, _not just yet_.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry if this hasn't been as early as I or anyone else fancied it, but what can I say … better late than never I guess. Can I also suggest, for anyone who's into Clove fanfiction that you check out my friends story Sugar, Spice and Everything Slice. Thank you<strong>


	4. The Unknown

**Hello,  
>Won't spend forever thanking people, you know who you are and the help you have given me on this chapter is greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy.<strong>

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><p>The hovercraft shudders violently and for once I'm glad that something has interrupted my not too peaceful sleep. I rub sleep from my eyes and listen to the low and urgent murmur of the pilot and the peacekeepers. Moments later a peacekeeper walks towards us and asks me, in a low whisper to wake my mother.<br>"_What's going on?_" I ask him as I tap my mum's shoulder and shake her from her peaceful sleep.  
>"<em>It's nothing for you to worry about<em>"  
>"<em>Yes it is, tell me!<em>"  
>"<em>What's all the shouting about?<em>" my mum asks as her eyes adjust to the lights in the hovercraft.  
>"<em>Capitol helicopters are circling above the skies of some of the districts, which is not something we expected<em>"  
>My blood runs cold. The Capitol has come for us and a fate worse than death waits for me.<br>"_What's the plan?_" my mother asks, sensing how scared I am of the whole situation.  
>"<em>We're not too far from the edge of the district eight, I'm afraid we'll have to drop you off their, we daren't go much further, the Capitol will suspect<em>" we both nod.  
>"<em>Will you be okay?<em>" I ask, it's not something my mum likes to think about; too many people have sacrificed themselves for her safety.  
>"<em>District eight is still a capitol territory, but most of them are still willing to help, we can pass ourselves off as a cargo craft, don't worry about us<em>" and I smile, reassured that no more sacrifices will be made on my behalf.  
>We gather our things and I can't help but laugh. If there's one thing that Capitol shouldn't have done, if they want me to die, is let me watch the Hunger Games.<br>I check I haven't left anything behind and so does my mum, I am determined to make the peacekeepers job as easy as possible and leave without a trace.  
>"<em>You have to keep going straight ahead to get to district thirteen, when you reach district twelve, you'll be about a week away<em>" the peacekeeper says as we walk towards the exit  
>"<em>And watch out for the winter<em>" calls out another peacekeeper, who has come to escort us and help his friend "_that's a killer_"  
>We all stand, looking out at the metal door, hiding us from the unknown<br>"_Anything else?_" my mother asks  
>"<em>No, just make sure you run as soon as we touch ground, have you got supplies?<em>" he asks me as the door begins to open  
>"<em>Yes<em>" I reply "_You're friend gave us some_" pointing to the peacekeeper by his side  
>"<em>Thank you<em>" my mum calls seconds from hitting the ground  
>"<em>God speed<em>" the pilot, an older man ,who has come out to help his comrades set up their story as cargo men, calls to us. I don't have time to ask him what that means, because we've hit the ground and I'm running for all I'm worth .

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><p>I've never known what freedom tasted like, until my feet hit the forest floor and the wind combed through my hair as I run past trees and rare never before seen plants that I have no time to sit and admire. Mum just about keep up with me, our backpacks smashing into our backs as we jump over fallen branches and over ditches, I feel like I'm fleeing from the Cornucopia as we run, never looking back.<br>We have to stop a while later, so mum can catch her breath. I look at the watch on my hand, I shouldn't wear it in the districts, it's richer than a lot of what they have ever owned, but I guess that in the forest I am safe, no one comes out here from the districts, so I am told.  
>"<em>We've got a good spot<em>" my mum admires, looking at the tall trees that will be our shelter for the night "_Have you got some rope?_" mum asks and I pull out the strong rope from my backpack, it's enough to tie me into one of the trees for the night and it will give me some shelter or at least give me time.  
>"<em>Don't touch any berries!<em>" I warn her, as the image of a girl lying lifeless by nightlock berries comes into my mind. The gruesome and terrifying games, made to scare us are now the only thing that will empower us as we start to climb a particularly tall and sturdy tree near about a mile from a nearby stream.  
>Close enough to water to survive,<br>Far enough out of any predator reach.  
>I continue to climb up the tree, my eyes on my feet and hands. My mum's at the bottom waiting to catch me should I fall. I look back to check my footing and there she stands, looking just above me with a frozen horror in her face.<br>I slowly turn my face to the branch above and see a man, sitting on the branch with a dagger and a piece of wood in his hand. He looks at me and puts the wood down, but still holds his knife in the other hand.  
>Poised and ready to kill.<p>

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><p><strong>...<strong>


	5. The Strange and Beautiful Night

**Hello again,  
>Sorry about the wait, but the exam season has found its ways of keeping me busy. But since I can't sleep I thought I might as well do something productive. Let me know what you think of the other POV in this chapter, I'm interested to know if you guys think it works?<strong>

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><p><strong>PORTIA'S POV<strong>

I try to breathe as I look out of the window at the strong and sturdy Capitol and I glare at it, willing it all to crumble to the floor taking me with it. I smile, the Capitol is scared of me, I know they are. They're scared of what I know and they're scared of what I might have said, so scared they may even kill me for it, but I don't care anymore.  
>The closest thing I had to family in this world was Cinna and well, I don't even want to think about what they're doing to him.<br>_If you've got nothing you've got nothing to lose._  
>I can see his house, his old house from here. He has so much to lose.<br>I know his family are safe, I hope they are anyway. I cannot think of that beautiful girl full of adventure, fire and playfulness lying dead in some unknown forest. Tears pool at the bottom of my eyes as I look towards a small communicating device, hanging on the wall. I know what I must do now.

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><p><strong>BACK IN THE WOODS<strong>

The air is pure and sweet here, nothing like the Capitol with its artificial perfume, the only smell in the air to cover up the blood and filth that lies on President Snow's hands.  
>"<em>What's it like? The Capitol?<em>" the man begs with a childish wonder in his eyes. I smile and we sit down by a fire and me and my mother indulge him with stories of our home  
>"<em>One time dad ..."<em> I trail off, seeing a pained look, hidden behind a warning glare "_Doesn't matter_" I tell him, waving it off and he doesn't probe us to speak anymore. He knows what sorrow is, I won't ask what his are if he stays away from mine.  
>"<em>I cannot say I'm a fan of this glorious Capitol of yours, I'm not a fan of much anymore<em>" and I nod sympathetically  
>"<em>Neither are we<em>" mum says, biting into a small loaf of bread that the man was kind enough to share with us.  
>"<em>Where are you heading?<em>" the man asks us "_District Thirteen?_" and I am glad that someone has mentioned that mythical district, otherwise I would have been very cautious to give our destination away. Mum only nods, I sense that she expects everything and everyone we meet to be a Capitol spy, that any minute we will be discovered, my father used as bait against us and ...  
>I try not to think about it.<br>The man heads off into the woods after showing us a few ways to survive the brutal winter, although I hope we got to district thirteen before we have to go through that.  
>The day turns into night and me and mum, after checking for trackerjacker nests and poisonous berries curl into sleeping bags, but I don't go to sleep.<br>I can't find it in me to sleep tonight, I want to leave the nightmares behind for a while and besides, there is a strange beauty in the night. The odd star twinkles on the black tapestry of the night and the moonlight provides a small circular spotlight on the clearing of the woods. I smile and for a split second I see a bird flying in the air, in the light of the moon I see my mother and father dancing to the symphony of the night. At first I'm scared as I watch the woods come alive in the cool night air but before long I get used to it and look lovingly on the couple dancing in the spotlight of the moon. But when I blink all has died and the night is silent once more.  
>I shake my head, I must be going mad,<br>and with that I curl up next to my sleeping mother and feel myself drifting off to my nightmares.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it, please review, favourite and the like :).<strong>


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